Record Number of Trainees Receive Support to Attend Neuroscience 2026

Record Number of Trainees Receive Support to Attend Neuroscience 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is pleased to announce that a record number of neuroscience trainees - 563 - received support to attend Neuroscience 2026 through this year's Trainee Professional Development Award (TPDA) program. This is the largest cohort of TPDA recipients in the program's history. Contributions from individual donors, foundation and corporate supporters, and the SfN Council totaled $660,000.

Neuroscience 2026, taking place November 14-18 in Washington, D.C., is the largest gathering of neuroscientists in the world. "Bringing this record group of trainees to Neuroscience 2026 would not be possible without the generous support from our TPDA donors," said Michael Lehman, PhD, outgoing TPDA chair. "The unparalleled opportunities that Neuroscience 2026 offers trainees to share research and connect with the global neuroscience community come at a crucial time. Uncertain funding presents a unique challenge for today's trainees, and being able to travel to Neuroscience 2026 and present their science provides these trainees with career development opportunities that might not otherwise be possible. I am proud of what these trainees have accomplished and look forward to seeing how their research develops and their careers grow in the years to come."

The TPDA program provides funding for promising undergraduate students, graduate students, and post-baccalaureate and postdoctoral scholars to participate in Neuroscience 2026, followed by yearlong access to SfN's virtual professional development resources. The 2026 TPDA recipients represent more than 320 institutions from 23 countries around the world.

Donors to the 2026 TPDA program include two multiyear TPDA supporters: the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. In addition, the American Brain Foundation, the BrightFocus Foundation, Brain Organoid and Systems Neuroscience Journal, the Developmental Studies Hybridoma Bank (DSHB), the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation, the Grass Foundation, and Science Translational Medicine/AAAS contributed funding this year.

Moreover, the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute provides support for selected TPDA recipients to participate in the TPDA/Chen Science Writers Fellowship program. These recipients will prepare meeting reports that summarize scientific discussions and share innovative research from Neuroscience 2026. The Chen Institute will publish the final reports.

Additional 2026 TPDA support was provided by annual contributions from three SfN endowments: the James L. Roberts Fund, the John I. Simpson Fund, and the Nancy Rutledge Zahniser Fund. SfN Council matched all endowment contributions and all institutional contributions of $25,000 or more. SfN Council also matched $78,000 in donations from individuals to the Friends of SfN Fund.

To learn more about how to support the TPDA program, visit the SfN website or contact [email protected].

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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 30,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.